Vim Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet For Productivity and Efficiency Boost

Vim, a powerful and versatile text editor, is a favorite among developers and sysadmins due to its extensive set of keyboard shortcuts that enhance productivity. Mastering these shortcuts can significantly improve your editing experience, making it essential to have a comprehensive cheat sheet at hand.

Navigation and Cursor Movements

Navigating through a file efficiently is crucial in Vim. Here are some key shortcuts to help you move around:

• Basic Movements:
  • h – Move cursor left
  • j – Move cursor down
  • k – Move cursor up
  • l – Move cursor right
• Screen Movements:
  • H – Move to top of screen
  • M – Move to middle of screen
  • L – Move to bottom of screen
• Word Movements:
  • w – Jump forwards to the start of a word
  • W – Jump forwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)
  • e – Jump forwards to the end of a word
  • E – Jump forwards to the end of a word (words can contain punctuation)
  • b – Jump backwards to the start of a word
  • B – Jump backwards to the start of a word (words can contain punctuation)
• Line Movements:
  • 0 – Jump to the start of the line
  • ^ – Jump to the first non-blank character of the line
  • $ – Jump to the end of the line
  • g_ – Jump to the last non-blank character of the line
• File Movements:
  • gg – Go to the first line of the document
  • G – Go to the last line of the document
  • 5G – Go to line 5
• Character and Paragraph Movements:
  • fx – Jump to next occurrence of character x
  • tx – Jump to before next occurrence of character x
  • } – Jump to next paragraph (or function/block, when editing code)
  • { – Jump to previous paragraph (or function/block, when editing code)

Text Manipulation

Vim offers a variety of commands to manipulate text efficiently:

• Insert Mode:
  • i – Insert before the cursor
  • I – Insert at the beginning of the line
  • a – Insert (append) after the cursor
  • A – Insert (append) at the end of the line
  • o – Append (open) a new line below the current line
  • O – Append (open) a new line above the current line
• Change and Replace:
  • r – Replace a single character (and return to command mode)
  • cc – Change (replace) entire line
  • cw – Change (replace) to the end of the word
  • c$ – Change (replace) to the end of the line
  • s – Delete character and substitute text
• Joining Lines:
  • J – Join line below to the current one with a space in between
  • gJ – Join line below to the current one with no space in between
• Undo and Redo:
  • u – Undo
  • Ctrl + r – Redo
  • . – Repeat last command

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting

Understanding how to cut, copy, and paste text is fundamental in Vim:

• Yanking (Copying):
  • yy – Yank (copy) entire line
  • #yy – Yank (copy) the specified number of lines
  • yw – Yank (copy) the characters of a word
• Deleting (Cutting):
  • dd – Delete (cut) entire line
  • #dd – Delete (cut) the specified number of lines
• Pasting:
  • p – Paste after the cursor
  • P – Paste before the cursor

Visual Mode

Visual mode allows you to highlight text and perform operations on it:

• Entering Visual Mode:
  • v – Start visual mode, mark lines, then perform an operation
  • V – Start linewise visual mode
  • Ctrl + v – Start blockwise visual mode
• Visual Mode Commands:
  • > – Shift text right
  • < – Shift text left
  • y – Yank (copy) marked text
  • d – Delete marked text
  • ~ – Switch case

Marks and Jumps

Marks and jumps help you navigate quickly to specific positions in your file:

• Setting Marks:
  • ma – Set marker “a” at the current line
  • 'a – Jump to marker “a”
• Jumping:
  • ` – Jump to position marked
  • `0 – Jump to position where Vim was last exited
  • `. – Jump to last change in file
  • Ctrl + i – Move to next instance in jump list
  • Ctrl + o – Move to previous instance in jump list

Macros

Macros allow you to record and replay sequences of commands:

• Recording Macros:
  • qa – Record macro “a”
  • q – Stop recording macro
  • @a – Run macro “a”
  • @@ – Rerun last run macro

Advanced Commands and Tips

Using Registers

Registers in Vim allow you to store and retrieve text:

• Showing Registers:
  • :reg – Show registers content
  • "xy – Yank into register x
  • "xp – Paste contents of register x

Advanced Navigation and Editing

• Screen Adjustments:
  • zz – Center cursor on screen
  • zt – Move cursor to the top of the screen
  • zb – Move cursor to the bottom of the screen
• Arithmetic and Expression Register:
  • <C-r>0 – Paste text in insert mode
  • <C-r>= – Do arithmetic and paste (using the expression register)
• Incrementing and Decrementing:
  • <C-a> and <C-x> – Increment/decrement next number of line
• Traversing Jump List:
  • <C-o> and <C-i> – Traverse jump list

Ex Commands

Ex commands provide powerful ways to manipulate text and navigate:

• Search History and Command History:
  • q/ – Opens a window with your search history
  • q: – Opens a window with your ex command history
• Sorting and Copying:
  • :%sort – Sorts all lines
  • :/text/,24 t . – Finds next occurrence of "text", captures up to line 24, and copies to the current line

Folding

Folding allows you to hide and show sections of your file:

• Toggling Folds:
  • za – Toggle fold

By mastering these shortcuts and commands, you can significantly enhance your productivity when using Vim, making it an indispensable tool in your workflow.